Father Albert Cutie, the author of Dilemma, said that the
pope was clearly speaking to social conservatives inside the church.

“One of the things that I see is that today in America all of
these groups that have been for, I would say, more than 2 decades
pushing the constant issue of contraception, the evils of
contraception, the whole abortion issue, the attitudes that are
sometimes so negative toward homosexual persons and their acts, today
they must be worried,” Cutie said. “Because this pope is telling
them, 'You know what? Stop it. You know, let's focus on the gospel.
Let's focus on welcoming loving people. And let's help them through
the process of whatever it is they have to deal with.' And that's
one thing that the pope has not said in the past. And if someone
tells me that what this pope is saying is not something new, they
haven't been paying attention for a long time.”

Donohue disagreed: “Stop the hyperventilation on the right,
those people who are in mourning. Stop the hyperventilation on the
left, those who are ready to pop the Champagne. He's not going to
change the church's teachings on gay marriage. He's not going to
change the church's teachings on women's ordination. He's not going
to change the church's teachings on abortion. And the faster people
get that, the better. His style is different.” (The video is
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